


I could let this bridge wash out

by brilligspoons



Series: up through the dirt [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Minor Character Death, Pre-Relationship, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 09:26:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1299931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brilligspoons/pseuds/brilligspoons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allison tries to get Lydia to open up during a cross-country road trip with mixed results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I could let this bridge wash out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inkjunket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkjunket/gifts).



"You know you didn't have to do this," Lydia says, staring out the passenger side window at the landscape. "You still don't. I would've been fine on my own."

"We're already on the other side of Nevada. If I didn't want to do this for you, I would've said something back in Beacon Hills," replies Allison. She glances at Lydia for a moment before checking the gas gauge. "We should be on the lookout for a gas station. The tank's almost empty. Might be time to look for a motel, too."

She doesn't get a response. Lydia's been like this since they finished packing up the car and said goodbye to their parents earlier that day - quiet, almost cold. This is the most she's said to Allison in a single sitting in twenty-four hours at least, and she's not sure if it's guilt or regret or fear or a combination of the three that has her so closed off. Allison wonders if maybe she should give Lydia more time to process, or if there's never going to _be_ a good time and she should just take the plunge and address the elephant in the car already. Not that she blames Lydia for being like this, but Allison knows what it's like to have guilt and anger fester inside you, and -

"You're thinking really loudly," says Lydia. She's still not looking at her. Allison tries not to take it personally. "I'm _fine_ , it's just -"

Allison's not sure what comes over her, but she feels something snap inside and blurts out, "You did the right thing."

Lydia falls silent again. Allison sighs and pulls off onto the shoulder. She turns the engine off after she parks and listens to the other cars zoom by them for a while before speaking again.

"Nobody blames you. I mean that." She angles her body in her seat to look Lydia head on. Lydia, at least, is facing forward, but her eyes are closed, and she's taking deep, shuddering breaths. "I'll say it as many times as you want me to. I figure it'll sink in eventually."

"Peter's dead, and I _let it happen_."

"Yes, you did."

Lydia opens her eyes to glare at her. A shiver races up Allison's spine at the intensity of the look. "I know better than anyone that the bastard deserved it," Lydia begins slowly, "but don't you think I'm allowed to feel a little remorse for taking another living being's life?"

Allison nods. "You absolutely are. We're all just a little worried that you're...internalizing this. More than you should, I mean." She makes a sweeping motion at the highway stretching out in front of them. "But you made a huge decision to move across the country just a few days after we found you and - him. Your first pick of colleges was Stanford, not MIT. We're all very worried about where your mind is right now."

Lydia doesn't say anything at first, and Allison starts to wonder if she's said too much too soon. She'd promised Ms. Martin that she wouldn't push it, but she couldn't help herself. Waiting until they were settled in Boston seemed like a terrible idea, and even if Lydia doesn't talk to her for the rest of their very long road trip, Allison thinks that maybe giving her another angle to consider will be beneficial. Hopefully, anyway. It's sometimes hard to tell with Lydia.

"Can we talk about something else?" Lydia asks.

It's abrupt, but her breathing seems to be evening out, so Allison nods and turns the car back on. As she pulls back onto the highway, Lydia starts grilling her on the whirlwind failure that was her romance with Isaac, and after a few hours of innocent gossip and laughter it seems like they're both back on solid ground with each other.

Lydia surprises her with a hug that night as they're getting ready for bed.

"Thank you," she says, the words muffled a little by Allison's shoulder. "For not pushing today. We'll talk about it later, I promise, but I just...can't. Not right now."

"Okay," Allison replies. "Later."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta reader for looking this (and the others stories) over! The titles for all three of these stories (and the series) are taken from Dar Williams' song "Spring Street."


End file.
